Stimulus

Ever since John M. Keynes proposed governmental influxes of money to stimulate ailing economies, there has been a steady flow of objections from free-market enthusiasts. They always use the same old arguments: continued unemployment and a pitifully slow recovery. But, the power of Keynes' ideas and the eventual improvements verify the thoughts. For one thing, they do not give Keynes' multiplier effect enough time to work. This concept was incorporated by President Roosevelt in 1935 when unemployment had reached 25 percent.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- A local stimulus program is credited with more than tripling the number of new homes started in Washington County from Oct. 1 through March 26, compared to the same period a year before, county permits and inspections director Daniel F. DiVito said. During that time period, construction permits were approved for 78 new homes, compared to 25 a year before, DiVito said. The stimulus program, which provided incentives for residential construction, ran from Oct. 13 through March 26. It was approved by the Washington County Commissioners last fall as a way to boost construction-related employment and make home building more affordable.

HAGERSTOWN -- Federal stimulus funding will help reverse some cutbacks across the state, but the money is not a cure-all, state officials said at a meeting for Western Maryland leaders held Monday afternoon at Hagerstown Community College. For example, the stimulus will invest about $610 million in transportation in Maryland, but that doesn't come close to covering the $2.1 billion in transportation-related capital projects the state deferred due to the economic downturn, said Israel "Izzy" C. Patoka, a spokesman for Gov. Martin O'Malley's office.

HAGERSTOWN -- As part of an $18 million bond issue, the city is considering a federal stimulus option that could cut interest costs. The Hagerstown City Council agreed Tuesday to divide the 20-year bond issuance into an A series of $7.23 million and a B series of $10.77 million. The A series, covering the first 10 years, would be traditional tax-exempt bonds, said Alfred Martin, the city's finance director. For the B series, covering years 11 through 20, the city could issue Build America Bonds, which were authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation on Monday released a list of stimulus money projects, which include two resurfacing initiatives in Franklin County. U.S. 30 will be resurfaced in two sections, according to documents distributed to the media. The first section will involve concrete patching and joint repair on the highway between Norlo Road and the Adams County line. The second section will involve resurfacing from Jack Road to Hilltop Drive in St. Thomas and Hamilton townships.

HAGERSTOWN -- A federal stimulus package grant will help the Hagerstown-based Maryland Symphony Orchestra retain its administrative staff despite declining donations and ticket sales, MSO executive director Andrew Kipe said. The orchestra was selected by the Maryland State Arts Council to receive a $12,500 grant through the Maryland Arts Employment Stabilization Program, which is part of a national effort to preserve arts jobs threatened by the economic downturn. The funding was authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and was awarded to Maryland from the National Endowment for the Arts, according to a state press release.

HAGERSTOWN -- The City of Hagerstown could use part of a $249,458 award from the federal stimulus package to improve streets. Community Development Director Larry Bayer told the Hagerstown City Council on Tuesday that the city should use $74,000 of the money to overlay streets, $65,000 to improve the Ridge Avenue traffic island, $60,000 to install curb ramps, $30,458 to help fund the Community Free Clinic and $20,000 to buy computers for city...

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- The Berkeley County Commission is eligible to use $30 million in bonds for public and private projects in the county through a federal stimulus "recovery zone" program, but rules have yet to be adopted by state lawmakers to allow and guide their use, county officials were told Thursday. The bonds would have to be paid back over 30 years, but County Commission President Ronald K. Collins said the county would first have to determine whether it could shoulder the additional debt for government projects.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government watchdog overseeing economic stimulus spending says the White House was too quick to take credit for saving or creating 640,000 jobs. The White House trumpeted job figures released last month, saying they proved the administration is on track to save or create 3.5 million jobs by the end of next year. But Earl Devaney, whose agency collected and released the data, said Thursday there are too many errors to know how many jobs have been created.

Current leaders could learn from Eisenhower's example To the editor: In these times of troubled relations between political parties, we need to take a quick look back in history to what I consider to be the “gold standard” of playing well with others. When Dwight Eisenhower was our president he famously met with Democrat Senate Leader Lyndon Johnson and Democrat Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn on a regular basis to discuss matters of importance to the American people.

A program to stimulate homebuilding by granting exemptions from Washington County's excise tax on residential construction has been expanded and extended. The county commissioners later this month are to hold a public hearing on reducing the tax permanently. The board unanimously voted Tuesday to approve a resolution extending the stimulus, which was set to expire June 30, to Sept. 30. The stimulus allows the first 3,000 square feet of residential construction to be exempt from the $3 per square foot excise tax. Commissioner Jeffrey Cline's motion also expanded the stimulus exemption from the first 30 units constructed by a builder to 40 units.

A stimulus program started by Washington County in 2011 to attract new jobs and investment is being modified to include municipalities and better explain how those taking part in the program can take advantage of deferred county fees and get real estate tax credit. Originally called the Pad-Ready Site Commercial Property Stimulus Program, the effort will now be called the “Commercial Property Stimulus Program” and will allow locations in the City of Hagerstown and other municipalities in the county to be part of the program.

Ever since John M. Keynes proposed governmental influxes of money to stimulate ailing economies, there has been a steady flow of objections from free-market enthusiasts. They always use the same old arguments: continued unemployment and a pitifully slow recovery. But, the power of Keynes' ideas and the eventual improvements verify the thoughts. For one thing, they do not give Keynes' multiplier effect enough time to work. This concept was incorporated by President Roosevelt in 1935 when unemployment had reached 25 percent.

For five years now, American policymakers have tried to fix the nation's economy. Republican and Democratic presidents and Republican and Democratic congresses have passed more than a dozen stimulus measures and jobs bills, and the Federal Reserve has launched several programs intended to get the economy rolling. Yet the outlook remains grim. The latest Labor Department jobs report classifies 8.1 percent of American workers - 12.5 million people - as unemployed, 5 million of whom have been out of work “long-term.” Another 8 million are working part time though they want full-time jobs.

Washington County is again extending a stimulus program for the construction of new homes. The Washington County Board of Commissioners agreed on Tuesday to continue the program for 12 more months past its expiration date of June 30, 2012. Under the program, the first $9,000 of excise tax on a residential building-permit application is waived, and each home builder will be allowed a maximum of 30 qualifying residential units. A memorandum from Jennifer M. Smith, the director of the county Division of Plan Review and Permitting, said the commissioners agreed in February 2011 to start the stimulus program “to address high unemployment in the County by providing an incentive to new construction.” According to the memo, 269 permits with excise-tax credits under the program were issued from March 2011 to April 2012.

A 55,555 square-foot, three-story office building under construction at Fountainhead Plaza near Hagerstown is expected to be completed by December, developer Asad Ghattas said Tuesday after a groundbreaking ceremony. At the ceremony, Washington County officials recognized the Fountainhead One Professional Offices project as one of the first to take advantage of two county incentive programs, a “pad-ready” stimulus program and a “green building” tax credit for high-performance commercial buildings.

Demolitions, renovations and expansions of existing buildings will qualify for county perks under a broadened “pad-ready” stimulus program approved Tuesday by the Washington County Board of Commissioners. The program was originally designed to encourage builders to bring undeveloped land to a ready-to-build state, but the commissioners decided that the same benefits should apply to sites with existing buildings in need of redevelopment. They also agreed that the program should run for three years, instead of the two previously suggested.

With jobs on everyone's mind, the Washington County Commissioners have approved a little economic stimulus of their own, eliminating or easing some of the stumbling blocks that can come between business and new construction. The two-year program was designed by the Economic Development Commission to turn vacant industrial land into “pad ready” condition by prioritizing plan reviews and deferring county fees. The breaks would not apply to retail centers, theoretically targeting companies that might bring with them higher quality jobs.